metro >> around town

BBYO Magic

Convention adds Shabbat and middle-schoolers to the mix this year.

IPPk BYO-Michigan Region held its annual Regional Convention (RC) Dec. 26-30.
With more than 500 attendees, this year's participants included middle school-
=wow aged teens in grades 6-8 as well as high school-aged teens from Metro Detroit.
One of the newest, most exciting parts of RC was that it fell over Shabbat. To cel-
ebrate, BBYO held Shabbat services and a Shabbat dinner at Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills. Teens also had the opportunity to participate in Shabbat electives on

Saturday afternoon.
With events such as menorah making, D'var Torah Show Off, song and oratory, the
teens really shined with their talents.
In total, there were 15 BBG and AZA chapters participating, with Kulanu BBG and
Jolson AZA winning the Most Distinguished Chapter Awards.

Talent show winners from Jolson AZA sang You Won't Succeed on Broadway
(If You Don't Have Any Jews)" from Spamalot.

Teens from Savage BBG gave it their all as they sang a medley of Detroit songs
during talent show.

❑

StandWithUs Dinner

Good friends:
Lynn Gorback,
Terry Swartz,
honoree Elaine
Serling, Carol
Leebove and
Ellen Wilson.

Annual celebration honors Elaine and Michael Serling
for their work in education and Jewish culture.

he social hall at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington
Hills was aglow with candle-
light from numerous chanukiot at the
StandWithUs-MI Festival of Lights
celebration on Saturday, Dec. 15. Two
hundred people dined and danced
following a program honoring Elaine
and Michael Serling for their work
on behalf of Israel studies and Jewish
culture.
Keynote speaker Dr. Jonathan
Adelman from the Korbel School of
International Studies at the University
of Denver gave a talk highlighting
Israel's remarkable ability to overcome
past crises, and then he addressed the
current Iran situation.
Brett Cohen, StandWithUs national
campus program director, described
various programs, like the new MZ
Teen Internships that enable high
school and college students to suc-
cessfully advocate for Israel. These
programs are implemented by 16 chap-
ters in the U.S., Canada, the United
Kingdom, Paris and Israel as part of
the greater SWU mission: to support
people worldwide who want to educate
others about Israel.
For more information, call Margot
Gardner at (248) 253-1513 or email
standwithusmichigan@gmail.com .

❑

18

January 24 • 2013

Guests applaud
StandWithUs-
MI's MZ Teen
Interns Joey
Jubas, senior,
Akiva Hebrew
Day School;
and Jesse Arm
and Andrew
Moss, seniors,
Frankel Jewish
Academy.

Cantor Daniel Gross with StandWithUs-MI
President Barbara Moretsky

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Left: Honorees Elaine and Michael Serling display the unique chanukiah they received as a gift of gratitude from StandWithUs.
Right: Dinner committee members Drs. Marc and Zieva Konvisser

